Romare Bearden (1911–1988), painter and collagist, was one of the most original visual artists of the twentieth century. He experimented with different styles and mediums but is best known for his collages and photomontages. Bearden had spent nearly two decades using abstract subjects when, in the 1960s, he departed from this focus and moved to collages. He joined twelve other African-American artists who called themselves “Spiral.” Inspired by the Civil Rights Movement, these artists sought to explore the identity and images of African Americans through the use of art. Bearden’s works are at the Museum of Modern Art, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and the Library of Congress. Bearden was born in Charlotte, North Carolina, on September 2, 1911, later moving to Pittsburgh and then to Harlem.